Reading The big turn off

5E Precious water Listening saving water; repetition and listening for key words
Help with Pronunciation consonant clusters

Speaking and Reading

1 a Do the quiz.
The big turn off: how little
On average, how many litres of water does ... water can you consume?
By Sophie Morris

At the World Economic Forum in January 2008, the UN secretary

general, Ban Ki-moon, warned that water and food shortages would
be the next big global crises. In the next few years, we may well
witness serious conflicts not over oil, but water shortages, provoked
by climate change, population growth and poor water management.
The average Brit uses about 155 litres of water each day, compared
1 a British person use every day? with 20 litres for most people living in sub-Saharan Africa. Water
a) 25 b) 75 c) 155 might flow freely from our taps, but our small island is not immune
2 a person living in sub-Saharan Africa use to global shortages. Water is a limited commodity and is becoming
every day? more expensive as its supply grows more difficult to guarantee.
a) 20 b) 55 c) 80 How do we get through almost nine times more water each day
than someone living in Africa? Thirsty Planet, a bottled water brand,
3 a washing machine use? challenged me to survive on 20 litres for 24 hours to find out.
a) 25 b) 65 c) 90 I discovered pretty quickly that we waste the larger part of those
155 litres. When I wake up, I fill a measuring jug with one litre of
4 a shower take? water, which I use to wash in and clean my teeth. I boil about 250ml
a) 35 b) 40 c) 45 for a cup of tea and drink a glass of water. As the morning continues
5 a toilet flush use? I need to go to the toilet. A single flush of a toilet sends between six
and ten litres of clean water to the sewers. Because I buy my lunch
a) 2 b) 6 c) 8
from the office canteen, I don’t use any of my water allowance for
cooking. But I count a couple of litres, hoping the salad I eat has been
b Work in pairs. Compare answers. washed. I’m feeling rather good about the challenge as the day ends,
but at the last minute, the toilet flush gets the better of me, taking my
2 consumption way above the prescribed 20 litres.
a Read the article about saving water. Check your
Before going to bed I clean my face with cleanser and cotton wool
answers to 1. Did the writer manage to use only 20
to avoid using any more water. Doing this is somewhat pointless
litres of water?
considering that irrigating cotton crops is one of the most water-
b Read the article again. Tick the true sentences. intensive processes in farming.
Correct the false ones. We produce twice as much food as we did in the 1970s, to keep up
1 Insufficient water and food will cause problems in
with population growth, but we use three times more water to do this.
Growing a bag of mixed salad in Kenya, where a good proportion of
Europe in the future. No, It will cause problems
the UK’s vegetables come from, uses about 300 litres of water. It takes
globally.
between 2,000 and 5,000 litres of water to grow just 1 kilo of rice,
2 Water shortages could be the cause of wars in the 1,000 litres for 1 kilo of wheat and 500 litres for 1 kilo of potatoes.
near future. Water is neither free nor unlimited. If we rethink our attitudes to
3 Britain is likely to suffer from water shortages. it now, we should be able to avoid every day turning into a 20-litre
4 Sophie, the writer, used only one litre of water in challenge.
the morning. Draining away: where does it all go?
5 Her lunch increased her water use very little. • Average washing machine cycle – 65 litres
6 Using cotton wool at the end of the day put her • Dishwasher cycle – 25 litres
consumption above 20 litres. • Flushing the toilet – about 8 litres
7 Since the 1970s, water use has increased at the same • Bath – 80 litres
rate as the growth of food production. • Shower – 35 litres
8 It can take ten times more water to grow rice compared Figures from www.USwitch.com.
to potatoes. Adapted from the Independent 24/04/08

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Listening and Speaking HELP WITH PRONUNCIATION
TIP When we have a lively Consonant clusters
discussion with several people, our TIP • In English some words have two or three consonants together with no
language is often less organised. It vowel between them. These ‘consonant clusters’ can come anywhere
contains repetitions and unnecessary in the word: Spain, destructive, lasts.
words. It is important to listen for the • One common group of clusters is /sps/, /sks/ and /sts/: crisps, asks,
key content words to help us lists. They only appear at the end of words.
understand what people are saying. • To practise these clusters try saying the words very slowly, letter
by letter, in front of a mirror so you can see if your mouth is moving
correctly. Then gradually say them more quickly.
3 a 5.1 Listen to three
flatmates, Graham, Nadine and
Connor, talking about saving 1 5.2 Listen to these words. Notice the consonant clusters at the end
water. Tick the things they talk of each word.
about. 1 lists
having baths 2 nests
using the washing machine 3 crisps
having long showers 4 wasps
washing the car 5 asks
watering the garden 6 discs
washing the dishes 2 a 5.3 Listen to these words.
dripping taps Which word do you hear twice,
buying bottled water a or b?
1 a crisp b crisps
b Listen again. Answer these
questions. 2 a goats b ghosts

1 Graham gives two reasons for 3 a boats b boasts

suggesting his flatmates save 4 a Mark’s b masks
water. What are they? 5 a text b texts
Water shortages and expensive 6 a suggest b suggests
water bills.
2 Why does Connor spend a long b PRONUNCIATION Listen again and practise.
time in the shower?
3 a 5.4 Listen and fill in the gaps.
3 What doesn’t Nadine want to do
with her flatmates’ clothes? 1 Bob that his boats are the .
4 What does Connor suggest they 2 Insects like live in .
do with their clothes? 3 Have you seen anywhere?
5 What bad habit did Nadine use 4 put on the shopping .
to have? 5 There’s a series of on in the coming
6 Who will call the landlord to get .
a plumber? 6 Steve always Stan if he his new
.
4 Look at these sentences spoken by
Graham. Underline the repetitions b PRONUNCIATION Listen again and practise.
and unnecessary words.
OK. Fair enough – yeah, well, that’s
probably an improvement. That’s
better – saving a little bit of water.

5 Work in groups. Make a list

of things you can do to save
water. Tell the class some of
your ideas.

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 5E Get it Right! common errors

Future meaning after when, before, after and Verbs and prepositions: for and of
by the time 3 Choose the correct preposition.
TIP We use the Present Simple or Present Perfect after 1 I’d like to pay for /of all the phone calls I made.
when, before, after, until and by the time to refer to the 2 We were thinking for/of going to New York for Christmas.
future: I’ll finish this letter before I go out. not I’ll finish this 3 I’ll be waiting for/of your answer.
letter before I’ll go out. I won’t go out until I’ve finished this
letter. not I won’t go out until I’ll have finished this letter. 4 The police accused him for/of the crime.
5 I’m writing to ask for/of a refund.
1 Fill in the gaps with the verbs in brackets in the 6 I’m applying for/of a new job.
correct form.

1 We need to start looking after the planet Confusing words: nature

before it too late. (need / be) 4 Fill in the gaps with a word in the box.

2 I you after the meeting . environment nature countryside field land pitch
(call / finish)

3 You out until you your homework. 1 I’m worried about the effect of biofuel production on the
(not go / finish)
environment .
4 Let’s wait for Jenny. When she home, we
2 The in northern Spain is beautiful.
dinner. (get / have)
3 I think cloning animals and humans is unnatural. It goes
5 By the time the politicians to do anything, the
against .
economic crisis over. (decide / be)
4 I love Van Gogh’s painting of flowers in a
in Arles.
Adverb or adjective?
2 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the 5 The football stadium looks great, but the
words in brackets. is in a terrible condition.

6 My dad bought some by the river and he’s

1 The roses smelled absolutely beautiful . (beauty)
thinking of building a summer house there.
2 He tasted the food because he wasn’t very
i before e, except after
keen on spicy food. (care) Spelling: ie and ei c when the sound is ee
3 Before email was invented, you couldn’t keep in touch TIP
• W
 e can sometimes work out
as as you can now. (ease) how to spell a word by the way
it sounds.
4 In the eighteenth century, roses became so
• piece – the vowel sound before
that many people used them as currency. (value) the c is long, /iː/, so we write ie.
• receive – the vowel sound is long, /iː/, but it
5 I went there because Dom said it was really . comes after the c, so we write ei.
(interest)
• science – the vowel sound is not /iː/, so we write ie.
6 The latest news about climate change is very . • T
 here are some exceptions, for example, either
(disturb) /'aɪðə/.

7 In some countries you are obliged to recycle.

(legal) 5 Fill in the gaps in these words with ie or ei.
1 rel i e f 4 bel f
2 rec pt 5 fr ndship
3 c ling 6 n ther

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